Club Won’t Grin and Bare It

Officials at the All England Club are concerned, now that the odds on a Wimbledon streaker have been reduced at London betting parlors. The odds have dropped to 6-1 with the news that a local group with a gripe is planning to provide the naked runner.

Police officials have been conferring with Wimbledon officials, each with differing views of how to deal with a streaker. The official position of the All England Club is to have a single police officer chase and then subdue the streaker. Police favor a “gentle convergence of stewards.”

Wimbledon officials objected to the idea because of the damage such a scrum might inflict on the grass court, but the police prevailed.

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Marc Rosset of Switzerland advanced Tuesday and conducted his usual I’m-from-outer-space interview afterward. Rosset, seeded 14th, is known as a brilliant and temperamental player. A journalist asked him about an incident last week when a frustrated Rosset threw his racket over a fence.

What, he was asked, goes through his mind during such moments of anger?

“I don’t know,” he said, angrily. “I can speak for hours, maybe you can help me. I tell you, honestly, I don’t care. It’s me and I’m like this. I’m going to throw my racket again until I stop. It’s quite normal. I get used to it. It’s been 13 or 15 years, so I get used to it.”

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Church Road, the two-lane track that runs in front of the All England Club, is jammed on one side with fans lining up to purchase the few tickets available each day.

Camping out is more accurate. Queuing involves pitching a tent and sleeping on the sidewalk. For the last 15 years, Anusca Hunt has been first in line. As with most things at Wimbledon, Hunt’s primary position became a tradition, as did her providing her fellow line-mates with gourmet food and wine.

There was surprise, then, when Hunt failed to show this year. The mystery was solved when Hunt’s daughter arrived bearing a wreath. The daughter explained that her mother had died six months ago in a car accident and, in deference to her mother’s love of Wimbledon and the queue, she had driven from Birmingham to lay the wreath on the spot her mother usually occupied.

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Andre Agassi’s loss Monday ensures that Pete Sampras will retain the No. 1 singles ranking regardless of his performance at Wimbledon.

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Officials here may be unbending about most rules, but there are indications that some things are open to change. Now, in a move “towards healthier living” according to the director of catering, strawberries will now be offered with yogurt, in addition to the traditional cream.